Item number: A3775

Reference number: SNMC#2-21

Year: AD 1085–1094

Material: Bronze

Size: 21.4 x 21.3 mm

Weight: 2.9 g

Provenance:

1. Spink 2023

2. Dr. Werner Klaus Burger Collection

This is the Da’an Yuanbao, cast under the fourth reign title, Da’an (AD 1085–1094), of Emperor Daozong of the Liao dynasty, Yelü Hongji, the eighth ruler of the dynasty. From the Dakang era of Emperor Daozong of the Liao dynasty onward, the coin names were uniformly designated as Yuanbao.

The coin conforms to the traditional Han cultural-sphere type of a round coin with a square central perforation. The obverse inscription, Da’an Yuanbao, is read from the top and then clockwise to the right. The calligraphy combines elements of regular and clerical scripts. The character an is rendered in an elongated form, a variety known as the “elongated an” type, which is comparatively rare. The reverse field is plain and uninscribed.

According to Liao institutional practice, coinage was mostly cast by the Directorate of Revenue in the Eastern Capital Circuit, which was subordinate to the Southern Administration Grand King, and the minting location was probably the administrative centre at Liaoyang Prefecture. In addition, agencies responsible for money and textiles were also established in regions such as the Liaoxi Circuit, Pingzhou Circuit, Changchun Prefecture, and Yuzhou, which likely possessed mining and metallurgical facilities as well.

The Liao dynasty, also known as the Khitan, originated from a nomadic tribal confederation in northeastern China; the term Khitan is also associated with the meaning “iron.” In AD 907, when the tribal leader Yelü Abaoji proclaimed the founding of the state, the Liao rapidly became a dominant power on the northern Asian steppe and exerted substantial pressure on the Han Chinese regimes to the south.

Emperor Daozong, Yelü Hongji, reigned from AD 1055 to 1101 and shortly thereafter formally adopted the dynastic name Great Liao. Despite his long reign, he was characterised by extravagance and political corruption, under which the state entered a period of decline. A succession of crises—including the Luan River uprising, the miscarriage of justice in the Shixiangci affair, the rebellion of Yelü Yixin, and the Mogusi revolt—destabilised the central government. Yelü Hongji was also a devout patron of Buddhism, expending vast resources on the construction of monasteries and pagodas, leading later generations to remark that “the Liao was ruined through devotion to Buddhism.” During his reign, the Jurchen gradually absorbed other tribes and rose to prominence. Ultimately, in AD 1125, all five Liao capitals fell, the last emperor, Tianzuo, was captured, and the Great Liao collapsed. Remnant forces under figures such as Yelü Dashi fled westward into Central Asia, where they established the Western Liao.

Werner Klaus Burger (AD 1936–2021), a German numismatist, was renowned for his pioneering research on Qing dynasty coinage. Born in Munich, he completed his studies in Sinology at the University of Munich in AD 1962. In 1963, he went to teach German at Fudan University in Shanghai. However, during the Cultural Revolution in 1965, after the closure of academic institutions, he was reassigned to tend sheep in Suzhou. Subsequently, he relocated to Hong Kong, where he devoted himself entirely to numismatic research. In AD 1974, he completed the first doctoral dissertation on Chinese numismatics, which was later expanded into his magnum opus, Ch’ing Cash, a chronologically organised catalogue of Qing dynasty coinage. His collection encompassed a comprehensive range of Qing coins and related archival materials. Burger passed away in Hong Kong in 2021 at the age of 85. His contributions to the field of numismatics remain profoundly influential.

物件編號: A3775

參考書目編號: SNMC#2-21

年代: 公元 1085–1094 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 21.4 x 21.3 mm

重量: 2.9 g

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

2. 布威納博士舊藏

這是遼朝第八任皇帝遼道宗耶律洪基，以其使用的第四個年號「大安」(公元1085至1094年)，所鑄造的「大安元寶」。自遼道宗大康年間後，錢名均為「元寶」。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面錢文「大安元寶」，自上而右旋讀。字體楷隸相參。「安」字字形較長，稱「長安版」，較稀見。錢幕光素無文。

依遼朝制度，錢幣多鑄於東京道戶部司，為南院大王所屬，鑄地可能為治所遼陽府。此外，遼西路、平州路、長春州、蔚州等地另設有錢帛司，應亦有坑冶。

遼朝又稱作契丹，為發源於中國東北的遊牧民族部落，契丹一詞又有「鐵」的意思。公元907年，部落首領耶律阿保機宣布建國伊始，遼朝成為北亞草原的霸主並且對於南方的漢人政權構成巨大的壓力。

遼道宗耶律洪基為第八任皇帝，公元1055至1101年在位，未幾改國號契丹為大遼。其雖長期在任，卻奢侈無度，政治腐敗，國勢在其執政下步入衰弱。先後有灤河之亂、十香詞冤案、耶律乙辛之亂、磨古斯叛亂，中樞動搖。耶律洪基並篤信佛教，靡費巨資修築佛寺、佛塔，使後世有｢遼以釋廢｣之評。女真於其任內逐漸合併他部，繼而崛起。最終於公元1125年，遼五京全部淪陷，末帝天祚帝遭俘，大遼滅亡。殘部耶律大石等則向西遁逃至中亞，成立西遼。

布威納(Werner Klaus Burger，生卒年公元1936-2021年），德國錢幣學家，以研究清代中國錢幣聞名。他生於德國慕尼黑，公元1962年於慕尼黑大學完成漢學學業，公元1963年赴上海復旦大學教授德語。公元1965年，因文化大革命學校關閉，被派往蘇州牧羊。因此移居香港，專注錢幣學研究，最終於公元1974年完成中國錢幣學首篇博士論文，後增補為其代表作《清錢編年譜》(Ch’ing Cash)。其收藏涵蓋清代錢幣及相關文獻。布威納於2021年在香港逝世，享年85歲，其對錢幣學的貢獻影響深遠。